A Secretive Mail Order Widow For The Humorous Rancher (The Love of Low Valley Series)

by Elliee Atkinson

  She stepped slowly across the porch and went down the steps. She crossed in front of the house and approached them, sliding her feet slightly so they would hear her.

  Two of them looked up at her, while another was stomping on a pipe he was trying to push into the ground. He looked up at her and spoke first.

  “Hello, Bee. What are you doing out here? You come to help?”

  Bee shook her head, giving him a smile she didn’t feel. “You know my name.”

  The man nodded. “Yeah. I do. I know everybody’s name that works here. You need somethin’?”

  “I was wondering where Ben was.”

  “Went out to the cottage to see Nan,” the man replied, looking down and stomping on the pipe a few more times. It finally sunk down to where he wanted it and he took a step back, looking at her. “Why? Carrie need him for something?”

  Bee was about to shake her head but didn’t. “Yeah,” she lied. “She does. Do you know if they’re gonna stay there?”

  The man shrugged. “I don’t have any idea, miss. Sorry.”

  “I heard him talkin’ about the waterfall,” one of the other men said, leaning down and shoving a rock out of the pipe hole with two fingers. “You might check there if it’s an emergency. Can’t imagine what Carrie would want him for that was an emergency though.”

  Bee felt a twinge of anger slide through her. He went to the waterfall. The waterfall was one of the most beautiful landmarks of Low Valley. He was taking her there.

  She had to tame her thoughts or they would show on her face. She forced another smile. “I don’t think it’s an emergency, but I like to do what she asks when she wants it done.”

  “Of course. Well, good luck finding him. He gets lost when he’s with that woman.”

  The men smiled at each other. Bee was disgusted by the thought. She smiled and turned away from them, the smile disappearing immediately.

  She hurried away from them, wondering what the fastest way to the waterfall was. They might not be at the waterfall, though. She could confront them at the cottage if they were still there.

  She crossed the compound and passed the chow house. As she went by the bunk house, she glanced to her right and stared at an old barrel with a gun belt lying over it. The gun belt wasn’t empty.

  Bee knew how to shoot. She might have to defend herself and her man. She turned in a half circle to see if anyone was watching her. No one was paying any attention.

  With a nervous, thumping heart, she walked casually toward the gun belt, snatched it up and hurried away, strapping it around her waist.

  She would need a horse. The waterfall was much too far away to walk. Especially if she planned to go to the cottage first.

  She continued to look around for anyone who might be watching what she was doing. No one noticed her at all. As usual. Who would pay attention to her? She was no one.

  She was about to change that, at least for Ben. He would finally realize what he really meant to her and how much she loved him. He wouldn’t be able to deny her then. He wouldn’t reject her if he knew how deep her love was for him.

  She grabbed one of the horses already waiting and saddled and rode away from the compound toward the cottage. She could see it easily. As she approached, she noticed the buggy was gone. That meant they had already left.

  She was only slightly disappointed. As she got closer to the house, she thought what a good idea it was to stop and go through the house, looking for anything she could use against Nan. She’d been there for almost two weeks now. She had to have personal things lying around by now. Maybe she’d even written a letter or two she never sent. That would be the best thing Bee could find. An incriminating letter written in Nan’s own hand.

  Ben would see it then.

  There was no one around when Bee stopped the horse in front of the house and dismounted. She swiveled her head back and forth, but no one was around. She went up the steps and into the house as quickly and quietly as she could. As she suspected, no one was there.

  She moved down the short hallway and opened the door to the large downstairs bedroom. From cleaning the cottage, Bee knew no one used the second floor. There were four more bedrooms up there. However, Nan was staying on the first floor, where she had everything she needed.

  She pushed open the door and looked in. There were two photographs next to the bed. One was a man. The other was an older couple. She walked to the night table and picked up the one featuring the older couple. She ran her fingers over their faces, assuming them to be Nan’s parents.

  Jealousy slid through her. She’d never had the love of her parents and would certainly never display their picture.

  She picked up the photograph of the man, setting down the old folks.

  Who was this? It wasn’t Ben.

  A slow smile crept over her face.

  CHAPTER 35

  Ben Reveals His Truth

  Ben held out his hand for Nan to take. She was looking radiant in the summer sun, her blond hair shining, her blue eyes sparkling at him. His heart beat hard for her. When she took his hand, he felt a tingle slide up his arm.

  “This way to the waterfall. You haven’t been here yet, have you?”

  “I haven’t,” Nan confirmed. He noticed the graceful way she stepped over the large rocks as they climbed up the mountain to get to the waterfall cave. He wanted to sit behind the falling water and talk to her. It was a little loud, but if you moved back into the cave enough, it wasn’t too bad. You had to anyway because the water spray was intense for the first few feet.However, getting there was the fun part. It wasn’t as difficult as it could have been, but it wasn’t easy either. If Nan had been a weaker woman, he might not have suggested it. However, she could do it. She was strong and courageous.

  She smiled at him as he pulled her up and over a fallen tree, the trunk at least four feet in diameter.

  “We’re almost there,” he said comfortingly, hoping she wasn’t unhappy with their trek through the woods. She just nodded, breathing a little hard as she lifted her leg and stepped up onto the next rock. He felt guilty for a moment, but shook it off because they were close to their destination.

  When the ground leveled off, she stopped and took in a deep breath. “I can hear the waterfall. But I can’t see it. How strange.”

  “It’s on the other side of this hill. We have to go around it. There’s a path here and it will take us behind the water. There’s a cave there I want you to see.”

  Nan’s eyebrows lifted. “A cave? That sounds a little scary.”

  Ben shook his head. “No, not at all. I’ve been there a lot. It’s real peaceful.”

  “I look forward to seeing it.” Nan moved her eyes toward the woods. He leaned toward her and pointed so she could see what direction they were going.

  “You see that opening right there? The trees are separated. Right there. See it?”

  Nan nodded. “I do.”

  “That’s where we’re going. It will take us around the hill and the waterfall is on the other side. When we’re finished with our talk, we’ll go down the other way so we can see the waterfall from the front.”

  Ben hoped that’s what they would be doing after their talk. He didn’t want to let himself think they would be angry with each other or not speaking. He didn’t want to feel the disappointment of realizing she was nothing more than a heartless liar. He refused to believe that’s what he would find out. He had faith in her, even if he had only met her weeks ago.

  He followed her down the path and around the hill. She used the trees on either side of the path to guide her and help her over some of the larger rocks. She slipped twice and Ben caught her from behind both times, setting her back on her feet.

  “You be careful, Nan,” he said softly both times, keeping his amusement to himself.

  She looked over her shoulder at him. “You just stay right where you are, Ben Connelly. I don’t want to fall!”

  “You won’t fall,” Ben said reassuringly. He wasn’t go
ing to let her get hurt. Not while she was with him. He would protect her with his life.

  Nan gasped when the waterfall appeared before them and she could see the opening to the cave. She looked over her shoulder at him with wide eyes, holding one hand over her mouth.

  “This is amazing! It’s beautiful!”

  Pride slid through Ben. He came up behind her and set the basket down, putting his arms around her shoulders and kissing the back of her ear. “I’m glad you like it, Nan. Go on back that way a few feet. The way the ground comes out right there is almost like a protective wall. There’s enough light to see and you don’t get sprayed by the falling water.”

  She hurried to the spot he indicated. He picked up the basket and followed behind her. Once they were protected behind the half-wall, Ben took the large blanket from the top of the basket and unfolded it, spreading it over the ground.

  She sat down and crossed her legs Indian style. He did the same setting the basket next to him.

  “Are you thirsty?” he asked.

  She blinked at him, smiling. “Not yet. Right now, I want to talk. Do you want to start or should I?”

  Ben’s heart jumped in his chest nervously. He had to warn her about Bee. He didn’t want to, but he had to. She had to know.

  “There’s someone I think you ought to be concerned about, Nan. You’ve already talked to her once and I don’t think things went well for you then.”

  Nan dropped her eyes. He could tell by the look on her face she knew what he was talking about. He tilted his head to the side.

  “You know I’m talking about Bee, right?”

  She nodded. He leaned forward slightly, pushing away his aggravation. She already looked hurt. Bee was responsible for it. It made him want to hurt Bee the way she was hurting Nan. He put both hands on his waist.

  “She really bothered you, didn’t she?”

  Nan sighed, but didn’t respond. She kept her eyes drifting around the cave, even though there was nothing really to see but blackness, gray walls and sparkling falling water.

  “She isn’t a very nice woman,” Nan said. He got the impression she thought he might get angry at her for saying that. He nodded and wasn’t surprised by the look of relief on her face.

  “I know. I’ve heard from several people that she is not a nice woman and unfortunately, I’ve had my share of dealing with her, too. When she came to see you, Nan, did she threaten you?”

  Nan looked thoughtful before shaking her head. “I don’t think she really threatened me. Not that I can remember. But I got the impression she wanted to. I… I wanted to talk to you about her, too. I wanted to ask you… what your relationship with her is.”

  Ben frowned. He had no relationship with Bee whatsoever. He should have known Bee would tell Nan differently.

  “Bee likes to pretend she and I are together. But we aren’t.”

  Nan lifted her eyebrows again, giving him a curious look. “Were you ever together?”

  Ben shook his head emphatically. “No. Never.”

  Nan frowned, turning her eyes away from him. “That’s strange.”

  Ben was confused. What was Nan thinking? Why was it so hard to understand women?

  “Why is it strange?”

  Nan looked him in the eye. “Well, I’ve just never known a woman to be so obsessed with a man she was never tied to. That doesn’t mean Bee isn’t the first one I’ve met. I just think it’s odd that she could be so convinced you and her are supposed to be together when you’ve never been a couple.”

  “Bee is special kind of woman, Nan,” Ben replied in a surly voice. “And I don’t mean a good kind of special.”

  “She seems kind of evil to me.” Nan said softly. Ben’s irritation subsided and he leaned forward to give Nan a kiss on the cheek.

  “She may be evil, Nan, but she isn’t powerful. She can’t do anything to us. As long as you believe in me and I believe in you, we can get past the hurdles.”

  Nan smiled. He loved the look on her face. She gazed at him with such warm passion. It filled his heart with joy.

  He braced himself, though. It was time for Nan to come clean with him. Would she tell him she was pregnant? If she did, what would be her reason for being in that situation?

  He said a quick prayer, asking God to make things work out right. He only wanted love and happiness. It’s what everyone wanted.

  “I want to get past everything bad with you, Ben. I mean… I want to get past these hurdles…”

  He chuckled. “I know what you mean, my dear. But now, I think you have something to tell me, don’t you?”

  CHAPTER 36

  Nan Reveals Her Truth

  Nan couldn’t express the amount of relief she felt, knowing there was no prior relationship between Ben and Bee. She didn’t suspect Ben of anything, even though it was strange for Bee to be so obviously obsessed with Ben without any prompting.

  She hoped when he found out her secret, he would be more likely to stay by her side if he didn’t have Bee to run to.

  She hadn’t quite settled on how she would tell him about the baby. It would be hard enough to get the words out. She figured she would just blurt it out and see what happened.First, though, a question came to her mind and she chewed the rest of her sandwich before she answered him.

  “Yes, I want to tell you something,” she said. “But first, I want to ask you something about Bee.”

  He nodded, gazing at her seriously. “You can ask me anything, Nan.”

  “When she came to see me that day, she knew a lot about me. Did you talk to her about me?”

  Ben looked confused. She scanned his face and saw no indication he was lying. “What do you mean she knew a lot about you? Like what?”

  “She knew that I am from Georgia. She knew the circumstances behind my coming here. She said you told her.”

  Ben shook his head slowly, never taking his eyes from hers. “No, Nan. I never talked to her about you. I don’t talk to her about anyone or anything. I don’t like talking to her.”

  “So you don’t have private conversations with her?” Nan asked, pushing away her doubts. How else could Bee have known about her private conversations with Ben if he hadn’t told her?

  “No. Never. I promise you. I swear it on the Bible. I wouldn’t do that. Not with her. Not with anyone. I’m a private person. I don’t like telling anyone my business.”

  “I’m like that, too,” Nan said, nodding. “But I just wonder how she knew so much if you didn’t talk to anyone.”

  Ben looked contemplative for a moment before his eyes darted to her face. “Did she know anything more about you? Anything I might have learned about you since you came here?”

  Nan thought back before shaking her head. “I guess not. I don’t really know. It’s been about a week since she came here.”

  Ben nodded, looking infuriated. “She read my letters,” he mumbled angrily.

  Nan lifted her eyebrows. “She what?” How had Bee gotten access to his letters? She stared at him, waiting for the explanation she knew was coming.

  He shook his head, his anger spilling out in his dark eyes. “She comes into the bunkhouse whenever she wants. She must have gone through my letters and read the ones I got from you. I can’t believe the nerve of that woman!”

  The thought of Bee reading her letters to Ben made Nan angry and disgusted. The letters were private, not for anyone but the man she was going to marry. No one else needed to know her business.

  “I’m going to have a serious talk with her when I get back,” Ben said, curling his lip. Nan wanted to see him smile again. She didn’t like the unpleasant look he had. However, what she was about to tell him wouldn’t make that smile return. She was sure of that.

  “I’m ready to tell you now,” she said after a brief pause. He looked at her, blinking, a neutral look on his face. She knew he was doing that on purpose. She wondered how much of what she was about to tell him he already knew.

  “I went to the doctor with Carrie to fi
nd out if I am with child,” she burst out. “And I probably am. The doctor was almost certain. But it’s still very early.”

  She watched the color drain from Ben’s face, but he didn’t move his eyes from hers or change his expression. She pulled in a breath and continued.

  “There’s a very good reason why I’m in this situation, Ben. I hope you will hear me out.”

  Ben shook his head. “I’m listening, Nan. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Nan’s heart melted. She let out a sharp breath and tilted her head to the side. “I… I was married already, Ben. I was married already and my… my husband was killed in a bank robbery. Not one he was committing, mind you. He had a very nice job as a teller in his father’s bank. I… I didn’t know I was pregnant when I came here and… I deeply regret not telling you about Johnny before.”

  Nan stopped talking, pressed her lips together and studied his face for his reaction. He had turned his eyes away from her, letting them drift around the land as he thought. Her heart thumped nervously in her chest as she waited for him to say something.

  “I am sorry…”

  “You don’t have to…”

  They both stopped talking. She let him have the conversation.

  “You don’t have to worry about a thing, Nan,” Ben said gently, turning his eyes to hers once more. Relief swept through her. “I had a feeling this would be the outcome of your doctor visit.”

  Fear edged in on the relief, making Nan’s nerves tingle. “Are you upset with me? I should have told you I was just coming out of my marriage to Johnny.”

  Ben gave her a sympathetic look. “Did you love him very much?”

  “I did,” Nan replied, her heart aching for her deceased husband. “I miss him every day.”

  “I’m sure you do.”

  “But you have brought me a lot of joy and happiness, Ben,” Nan said quickly. “I want you to know how much I care for you, how much I want to be here. I’m so afraid you will send me back to Georgia. That’s not where I want to be anymore, Ben. I really didn’t want to be there when I was. I want to be wherever you are. I want you to love me the way… the way I love you.”